Marion County Master Gardener Association
Photo Contest – 2022
Its’ not too early to start thinking about this year’s MCMGA Photo Contest. The MCMGA photo contest is partly photography, but mainly about the great things in your favorite garden(s), home or away, that you would like to share with the rest of us.
WHEN and WHERE
I will accept entries for the 2022 Photo Contest until midnight, September 18, 2022. You may submit a total of three entries spread out among any of the six categories described below to photos@indymcmga.org.
We are now at the height of gardening season, so I hope you are taking lots of photos of what is growing in your gardens or someone else’s garden. The photos can be taken in previous years as well as the current year. Remember they must be photos taken by you.
Voting will take place online as it has in the last two years. Information will be forthcoming on when voting will be open online. Stay tuned!
Following are some basic rules for the contest.
Don’t worry about having a big expensive camera. Today’s cell phones have great cameras. Previous contests cell phone photos have been winners. Please, just snap away, and enter our contest!! We want to give our best photographers some competition! Your picture just might give someone else a gardening idea they have been waiting years for, so jump in and have some fun. You never know what will come out of that lens!
- The contest is open to current MCMGA members only and you must have taken the photos. Entries can be of plants and scenes in your own garden OR in some other garden you enjoy. You may submit up to three photograph entries as digital files only. Please make sure you rename your images with your entry name and your name. For example, Red Tulips Vickie Davis
- Each photo must be accompanied by a written comment that is 25 words or less and that provides some educational information about the subject matter that your fellow MGer’s would like to know. TIP: Sometimes an informative explanation makes the difference between a winning photo or not.
- The entries will be judged in six different categories –
- Blooms,
- Exotics and Tropicals,
- Fruits and Veggies,
- Landscapes or Garden Views,
- Natives, and
- Wildlife in the Garden.
- Photos with their written statements will be assigned numbers (anonymity) and put on display by category. Voters may choose their favorite based on beauty, interest, how unusual or educational they think it is, etc. The photo receiving the overall highest number of votes will determine the Best of Show winner.
- Voting will be open to all Marion County Master Gardeners.
- Submit your photo (up to three) via email to photos@indymcmga.org . Include in each submission a brief 25-word-or-less description of each photo submitted. Indicate the category in which you want your entry placed. If you do not indicate a category, a category could be assigned to your photo.
- Suggested camera settings: Use the highest quality settings e.g. “fine” (i.e. most pixels) and have a relatively new camera for high‐resolution images. File sizes of 2+ megapixels are generally high quality. Some camera companies use their own proprietary quality standards such as SQ, HQ, and SHQ (standard, high and super high quality respectively.
- Winners will be announced at the December MCMGA holiday meeting. The winning entries will appear online after the winners are announced. Prizes will be given to the “best of show” winner, the first, second, and third place winners in each category.
NOTE: Check out the Photography Tips page. Also don’t forget those cell phone photography tips we learned from Rad Drew at our March 2021 members meeting. On our website: www.indymcmga.org go to the Master Gardener Information tab on the main menu and click on Monthly Programs and look for March 2021.
If your files are larger than 10 MB you can send them via an online free service at www.wetransfer.com
Questions? Email Vickie Davis at photos@indymcmga.org.
Updated: June 29, 2022